Duty
by TrillianRose
Summary: While everyone races around to get things done, Squall Leonhart takes his duty as commander very seriously. To top it all off, a mysterious force attackes B. Garden. But he's not that worried. Seriously...
1. Morning

Disclaimer- I want to own Squall so bad, but I can't have him and neither can you. Square-Enix owns him, his personality, and his sexy body. cries  
  
Notes: I feel this needs just a little explaination. First of all, I don't plan to describe the setting, anyone who knows FFVIII, knows where things are and how they look, and if you don't know FFVIII then you shouldn't be reading this fanfic. Secondly, this is not your common Galbadian Army versus Balamb SeeDs. I know there are many of those types of fics out there, and I don't intend this to be one of them. Thank you for reading, I shall be updating daily, or bi-daily because the story is pretty much complete. Enjoy.  
  
Balamb Garden, Balamb -   
  
"Four SeeDs were sent to identify the new military leader of the Galbadian Forces. All four return safe to home. Six Presidential documents were recovered during the mission. From the documents we've determined that the newly elected Galbadian President is not influencing the military. Someone is giving orders but it is definitely not the president. Not one soldier or SeeD knows who is giving the orders but they are following them."  
  
"Is that all?"  
  
"No sir, we've heard rumors of a General or Captain,"  
  
"But that is all they are, rumors?"  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
"Are you done?"  
  
"Yes, Sir"  
  
"Dismissed."  
  
SeeD number 5679 walked silently out of Commander Squall Leonhart's office. A few minutes later Quistis Trepe walked in with a few papers. "Another report?" She nodded toward the folder in his hand. Squall dropped it on the desk.  
  
"I still don't understand how 15 SeeDs, Balamb SeeDs, can be sent in and not one can retreive any information of even the least importance." He said, his natural calmness hiding his frustration.  
  
"You can't blame them," seeing Squall's frustration, "Galbadia is the most secure nation next to Esthar."  
  
"Yes, but even we got into Esthar unnoticed."  
  
"Cut them some slack, they're just tired from the last onslaught."   
  
"That was two months ago."  
  
"A very short two months ago, Squall, I'm surprised you don't have nightmares, most students do." Squall muttered something under his breath."What was that?"  
  
"Whatever." Quistis eyed him warningly. Squall continued, "we've gained 25 new SeeDs since then. They've no reason to tire so quickly, They knew what they were getting into when they joined as cadets. If they were being employed by outside forces they would have be fired." Squall said in his matter-of-factly voice.  
  
Quistis's eyes lit up, "Why don't you offer them an award. It'll make them work a little harder."  
  
"What kind of an award?"  
  
"Money or prizes. Who ever gets the name of the military leader gets 5,000gil and who ever gets a picture gets 10,000." Now her eyes were beyond well-lit, they sparkled like a christmas tree. "What do you think of that?"  
  
"Well..." Squall hesitated."Bribes-"  
  
"Not a bribe! Just an incentive." Quistis interupted.  
  
"They are mercenaries, I don't demand obediance, do I? And I can only hope for loyalty."  
  
Quistis took it as a yes, "Great, I'll start spreading the news." She started for the door when Squall recieved a call. "Yes?" Squall said after flicking a switch.  
  
"This is Selphie Tilmitt of Trabia Garden requesting the attention of Commander Squall Leonhart of Balamb Garden!" Selphie almost made it through the whole introduction without laughing...almost. Squall flicked another switch and saw Selphie's bubbly face on the monitor.  
  
"Hey Selph!" Quistis walked back behind Squall's desk and stood next to him.  
  
"Hey Quisty!" Selphie smiled and waved at the blonde. "I read that book you sent me, I gave it to my friend to read, she's loving it, it's real hard not to give away the ending."  
  
"I know, isn't it great. The ending is so sad though, I really did cry."  
  
"The Ice Queen herself! Cried over a book!" Selphie laughed. "I must have cried for days, Irvine said my face was puffy for a week from crying."  
  
"So..." Squall said after a few minutes of girl chat.  
  
"Oh right! Forgot what I was doing for a minute there, sorry Squall." Selphie laughed again. "So what was I calling for again? Oh yes, we have 23 cadets that have passed our written exam and they are now ready for the field exam."  
  
"I'll trade you, I've got twelve new recruits from the city and no space left." Quistis said.  
  
"Sure thing."  
  
"Tell me Selphie, are these cadets native Trabians?" There was a faint trace of worry in Squall's voice but it wasn't shown on his face.  
  
"No why? I think a few may be from Deling." When Selphie said this Squall nodded solemnly.  
  
"He's paranoid." Quistis pointed out, very blatantly.  
  
Squall scowled at Quistis, "Not paranoid, a little worried at most."  
  
"No reason to bite her head off Squall, she was only pointing out the obvious." Selphie poked fun at Squall.  
  
"For the last time, I'm not paranoid about spies, or disloyalty, or anything, alright?"  
  
"Okay Squall, well, I'll send the data over then."  
  
"Wha- oh yes, go right ahead." Quistis almost forgot what the call was about. "When shall we be expecting their arrival?"  
  
"In a few days time, the field exam isn't for a few weeks time, isn't that right?" Squall nodded. "So what are you gonna make them do this time? Run through the mud? Beat up bugs?" Selphie laughed.  
  
"This time we're looking for no one but the best." Quistis laughed sharing the joke with Selphie. "We're sending them for a week's excurtion to the Island Closest to Hell." Selphie continued laughing until Squall got irritated.  
  
"We need as many SeeDs as we can get, and we need them alive, they'll be sent to kill a few monsters in Esthar." He eyed the two suspiciously.  
  
"Lighten up Squall! It was only a joke." Selphie said before she was interrupted by a few cadets who wanted her attention. "Well, I have to go, I'm needed on the front line. Tell Rinoa and Zell 'Hi!' for me, okay? See ya!" The image popped of the screen.  
  
After a moment of silence Quistis spoke softly, "So that's what's really been troubling you."  
  
"I've been reading."  
  
"No! Not you too!" Quistis laughed.  
  
He stood up and grabbed his jacket that was hanging on the back of his chair. "I'm going. I've got things to attend to."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Checking up on reconstruction." Squall muttered.  
  
"Don't forget to meet Rinoa in the infirmary!" She shouted as he shut the door.   
  
Alone in the office Quistis realised she still had reports to file. She picked up the pile and started to put them in the filing cabinet. When she was done she looked around the room to she if she missed any, and noticed the folder Squall was holding when she walked in. She went over and opened it up and gasped. 


	2. Midday

To answer questions, no this is not a sequel to any previous fanfics, I just wanted to give the first chapter a lot of unanswered questions, which will be hopefully answered this chapter. I guess these events would be about 6 months or so after the end of the game. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

P.S. I do not own FFVIII, or anything related to it, I do own Helena Trotsky and her novels though.

Squall walked down the second floor corridor toward the classrooms. The noise of hammers and saws grew louder as he got closer to his destination. The sound of his boots changed as he walked from old polished floor to new makeshift floors. Workers and SeeDs were scattered everywhere. Some were laying tiles, others building floors.

A few SeeDs that were laying down tiles nodded toward their commander, "Morning, Sir!"

"Morning." Squall responded.

The supervisor looked up from a wall he was inspecting and spotted Squall. "Good day, Sir!" He started walking toward Squall over the girders. "Progress is going good. Right on schedule."

"Very Good." Squall said as quietly as possible and yet be heard over the noise.

"What I don't understand, sir, and if you don't mind me asking, is that if they dropped bombs, wouldn't there be, well, less of a ceiling?" He waved his hand toward the ceiling.

"There was no bomb. They attacked through the windows. No warning. Soldiers came and attacked our cadets while they were attending class."

"What a low and cowardly thing to do. They were soldiers too, that's not proper army tactics. That's downright dirty."

"That's downright rude as well." Squall said, his voice betraying his anger. "There wasn't a lot of them, but they all died by angered SeeDs. I still can't believe we didn't think to capture some for interrogation."

"Well, we'll do our best to rebuild." The supervisor saluted the young commander and went back to work.

Squall glanced one more time at all the repairs being done. He beamed inwardly with pride, SeeDs helping each other, helping with the repairs. '_This is how Selphie must feel in Trabia_' he thought. He now felt as if he understood Selphie better, if only a little bit.

He turned and started down the corridor, again his boots changing sounds from the new floor to the old floor. The elevator opened and a group of construction workers and SeeDs walked out. The SeeDs saluted Squall as they passed and there was a general, "Morning, sir." from everyone. Squall returned their greeting and entered the elevator.

As the elevator door closed Squall returned to his morning worries. The SeeDs on that mission must have brought back false information. No one knows where they got their info from, hell, it wasn't even information, just a rumor. '_Hyne_' he thought, '_what I wouldn't give for the truth._'

The elevator stopped and the door opened, bringing Squall out of his mind and back to the present.

A hundred or so cadets and SeeDs were camped out in the halls of the first floor. Numerous students sat on the floor playing Triple Triad quite energetically. All the benches were taken up by napping SeeDs. Two junior cadets stood dripping in front of Balamb Pond, a SeeD scolding them for their behavior. A few teachers were attempting to hold classes when Squall walked by and noticed that the students' attentions were elsewhere. Squall walked along the corridor stepping over sleeping bodies and card games as he headed toward the infirmary.

Few people saluted their commander here, they were either occupied or oblivious. A few young SeeDs started up a soccer match up by the front gates. The noise of unorganized people died down as he walked down the infirmary hall. The door slid opened and the sanitary smell filled Squall's nostrils.

"Good Afternoon Squall." Dr. Kadowaki greeted him. Squall looked at his watch, 'Noon already?' he thought to himself.

"How is everyone doing?" he asked quietly. The entire infirmary was full of cadets and junior cadets injured in that attacks. The infirmary itself was so small it could only care for twenty people, and not comfortably. There were at least thirty students per classroom and four rooms were demolished. The intensive care unit was the infirmary itself, while those who only needed moderate care were being held in a makeshift hospital wing set up in the dormitories.

The young commander looked around at the intensive care patients and the SeeDs that were caring for them. 'No wonder everyone is worn out. So many people helping others. This Garden is drenched in fatigue and exhaustion.' Squall thought.

Dr. Kadowaki placed a hand on Squall's shoulder. "If you're looking for Rinoa, I believe she's in the Quad. I sent her away because she was looking awfully tired. In fact, you look equally exhausted. You-"

"I'm fine, thank you." Squall nodded to Kadowaki and left before she ordered him on vacation.

The Quadrangle of Balamb Garden was completely rebuilt before the end of the last Sorceress War. Zell was teaching a large number of students the art of Tai Chi. He must have rounded them up from out by the front gate, their soccer game causing to many problems.

Rinoa sat under a tree, half watching Zell's class, half reading. Squall snuck up and sat down next to Rinoa. "What are you reading?" Squall whispered.

"Helena Trotsky's latest best seller." Rinoa smiled. "You wouldn't have been reading it, would you?" her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Why, I'd never read such mush." Squall feigned being hurt by Rinoa's indirect accusation.

"Yeah right, Mr. Softie," she poked him gently in the stomach and laughed. "How come my bookmark was moved?"

"It," he paused, "It fell, I simply picked it up."

"Yeah sure, would you like to read with me?"

"No thanks," Squall yawned, "To much sappy, dramatic stuff for me."

"As if your life isn't full of sappy, dramatic stuff."

Her eyes met his and they sat there, staring into each other's souls. He leaned closer to her face, her heart began to race. Hi lips parted, "No." Squall crossed her arms behind his head, closed his eyes, and leaned back against the tree. "I think I'll take a nap."

"Humph." Rinoa grunted and opened her book.

"I think you should take a nap too." Squall said without opening his eyes.

"No thank you, I'm not tired."

"Not according to Dr. Kadowaki."

"Oh! Not you too! I feel perfectly fine. I should be back there helping out!"

"Alright, just don't over exert yourself."

"And you shouldn't stress yourself."

"What makes you think I'm stressing?"

"You're starting to get worry lines and you're only eighteen." She poked his forehead. "Besides, you're almost constantly edgy, and I can sense it."

"To tell you the truth," Squall began quietly, hesitantly. "It's that book." He pointed an accusing finger to Trotsky's novel in Rinoa's hands.

"I knew it." Rinoa said under her breath. Her earlier feelings proved true, he was reading her book. She looked at him, "Squall, it's just a work of fiction."

"With underlying themes of real life evil and deceit." Squall looked perturbed.

Suddenly, SeeDs and students from out in the halls came running in. Screaming and shouting they poured into the Quad. Zell's Tai Chi students ran to help. In the chaos that ensued, Squall got everyone inside, ordered Rinoa to calm the SeeDs and cadets and take charge, and then locked the doors after he and Zell stepped out into the halls.

"Did you hear what's going on?" Zell whispered to Squall while scanning the halls for enemies. "All I got was jumbled reports."

"Something about an explosion at the front gate" Squall said while removing his security override card from the Quad door. '_All you need to do to get clear info is take someone by the shoulder and look them in the eye._' They started toward the front gate.

Until next time...


	3. afternoon

Again, I don't own FFVIII, but the book Stormy Nights is mine.

"Whoa, man, I can see the explosion." Zell whistled. A huge yellow cloud was quickly dissipating from the main gate. There was no sign of any soldier or monster, just a toxic looking cloud.

"Here." Squall handed Zell the security override card. "I want you to run to the infirmary and get a complete decontamination team, then go around and lock off every hall from the main hall. I don't want anyone allowed in here."

Zell took the card, "Yeah, but where are you going?"

"How did the Traitor break into the castle?" Squall said as he ran toward a secret staircase.

Zell ran toward the infirmary thinking about Squall's question. After a second of thought he shouted to himself, "The backdoor! Of course!" Each quick footstep brought him closer to the infirmary. When he got there he found an already locked hallway. He used the keycard to quickly open the door and closed it behind him. He ran into the infirmary.

"Orders from the Commander!" He said quickly. "He wants a complete decontamination team to clean up the mess up at the front gates." Several SeeDs stopped what they were doing and ran to get prepared.

Quistis came running in from a back room. "Zell, what happened? I heard an explosion, so I looked off this room Where's Squall?"

"One question at a time!" Zell seemed flustered. "First of all the was this big Toxic cloud." Zell used his hands to show just how big it was. "Ah, chemical explosion. Most of the SeeDs and cadets got into the Quad safely, Rin's taking care of them." Zell paused to catch his breath, "As for Squall, well, he believes the enemy used the explosion as a diversion and is now heading for the 2nd floor balcony, or the _backdoor_, if you will."

"Somebody has been reading too much." Quistis laughed.

"Yeah, you wouldn't think a guy like him would be reading Stormy Nights!"

"He told me this morning that he's been reading it," Quistis revealed. "And I think I know why."

A group of ten SeeDs wearing full chemical suits walked into the room with Zell and Quistis. "All set, sir."

Zell turned to Quistis. "Will you be heading the Decon team?"

"They should be fine, I should go help Squall."

"I have a better job for you then, go around and lock all the halls and keep the students out of the main hall. I'm gunna go kick some butt." He tossed Quistis the keycard and ran out the door before she could say anything. She then ordered the Decon team to work and went to finish the security job.

Out in the Quad, Rinoa had managed to calm the horde. The cadets that were being taught by Zell before he left had rounded up all the uninjured cadets and they were all practicing their martial art quietly.

Uninjured SeeDs helped set up a makeshift medical center, helping those injured by the falling debris, only a few were injured, those who were caught in the main blast couldn't run to the quad like the rest.

Rinoa went around passing out potions and telling everyone to conserve spells.

Four mischievous junior cadets had found a secret passageway that led from the Quad to the Cafeteria. They brought back food to share. No one talked about the explosion, they all knew who to blame. Like any good SeeD, they kept their anger on the inside and secretly wished to defeat their enemy in battle.

Quite possibly because he was the best SeeD, or just because he was himself, Squall leonhart looked blankly at the sky from the 2nd floor balcony. Deep in thought, he too, wished for battle.

Zell found him 5 minutes later, still completely lost in thought. "Hey man, what happened?" Zell looked around confused.

"I think I've got it." Squall said quietly.

"Got what?"

"Either are enemy is a psychopath, or he's a complete tactical genius."

"Damn, they like toying with us." Zell smacked his fist.

Squall looked up into the sky from the floor of the second floor balcony. They had to change their location, they needed more forces, they needed to repair the Garden, and they too needed a psychopath.


End file.
